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Riga — UN urban centre population

Modelled live estimate · UN 2025–2026 annual growth
550,267
Recorded base: 550,267 · 2025 annual estimate

Riga has a recorded base population of 550,267 for the UN urban centre definition (2025 annual estimate). UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; the moving counter uses UN 2025–2026 annual growth, not new population observations.

At a glance

Population definitionUN urban centre
Recorded population550,267
Country share29.78% of 1,847,785 (World Bank 2025)
World share0.007% of 8,215,424,893 (World Bank 2025)
Country database rank#1 of 3 UN urban centre records
World database rank#773 of 5,233 UN urban centre records

Separate UN urban-centre definition

Riga UN urban centre: 550,267 people (2025), equal to the displayed UN urban centre figure of 550,267. Separate GeoNames settlement record: 742,572; the UN value is smaller (different boundaries; GeoNames population date unavailable). UN WUP 2025 Degree of Urbanisation; not a municipal/province boundary. Association: name/country/coordinates matched; boundary relationship unverified. No containment claim is made.

Administrative units of Riga

3 administrative records listed; completeness not established. 3 of 3 population values available; population values and dates not independently verified.

Available-value subtotal: 32,487; not a reconciled total. Shares use the displayed UN urban centre denominator 550,267; mixed/unknown dates are not comparable. An em dash means missing, not zero.

UnitPopulationShareMembership
Bolderaja14,7712.68%Not independently verified
Daugavgrīva9,9521.81%Not independently verified
Čiekurkalns7,7641.41%Not independently verified

Comparable database records

Same definition label: UN urban centre. Dates/boundaries may still differ; this is not a harmonised international city ranking. Ratios use 550,267 as denominator.

PlacePopulationvs Riga
Sheffield549,695−0.1%
Purwakarta549,480−0.1%
Kikwit549,102−0.2%
Port Louis549,015−0.2%
Azamgarh551,621+0.2%

About these numbers

Source: UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025. Reference: 2025 annual estimate. Live method: exponential projection from modelling anchor 2025-01-01 using UN 2025–2026 annual growth (−0.32% per year). This anchor is a modelling convention, not an observed population date. Tiles, ranks and comparisons use the recorded base figure 550,267, not the ticking estimate. Country/world denominators are World Bank values and can differ in date and method from local/UN values. Ranks cover only records with the same definition label in this database, not all cities in the world.

Harmonised UN urban-centre ranking · Embed

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Urban and administrative population explained →

Interpretation reviewed 12 October 2026. Underlying reference years are stated on the page; this is not a fresh census or dataset refresh.